The Effectiveness of a Community Involvement Information Session Involving Translated Materials and Interpreters On Hispanic Student Attendance

Author/Creator

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2013-05

Department

Program

Masters of Education

Citation of Original Publication

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if elementary student school attendance would increase if Hispanic families were informed about school policies, requirements, and expectations pertaining to attendance by the use of translated materials and interpreters through a community based information session. This study involved use of pretest and post test design to measure student attendance rates in six week increments before and after a community information session where translated materials and interpreters were present. Subjects (n=8) served as their own controls. The students attended significantly more hours of school in the six weeks after the intervention (Mean-169.81,SD=5.42) than in the six weeks prior to the intervention (Mean=151.25,SD=13.42) [t(7) = -5.25, p < .001]. Research in this area should continue as there is very little information regarding the impact of translated materials and the use of interpreters within a community based meeting on increasing student attendance.